MetalliScanner m40

Brand/make: I'm very glad I spent the extra $10 to get this one instead of the Little Wizard II. Zircon seems to be the industry leader in this sort of technology, and seems to be a brand I can trust and get good support from. Their website is well maintained. It's designed in USA; assembled in Mexico. I think it's a newer design than the Little Wizard II, since it was first released in April 2007, whereas the Little Wizard II product manual is dated November 2002. Purpose: I bought this primarily for finding staples/screws/nails in old wood I want to reuse, but I'm sure I'll find other uses for it too, like finding things I drop, finding studs and nail lines, etc. Size: It's a little bigger than I imagined it, but that's a good thing - my fears of it being delicate or likely to be broken were completely unfounded. Battery: I only just got this, so I can't comment on battery life, but it's nice that it came with the 9-volt battery already installed and ready to use. Broad/pinpoint usage: You can use this lying flat for doing a broad sweep, then turn it up and point it like a gun to pinpoint the exact area. That's really handy. Proper usage: This is a sensitive, quality device. Like the directions say, if you move it around quickly changing its orientation, it will give you a false positive briefly, but used properly, it'll work great - just use a steady hand and don't twist it around quickly. Lights/indicators: The scanner has a green "READY" LED under a four red LED "bargraph". This is duplicated on the other side, so you can conveniently see it regardless of orientation. Furthermore, when you're closer than 4 lights, the blue senor lights up and buzzer sounds (engineered at just the right volume, IMO, to be audible but not annoying). Calibration: Rather than fool with a little adjustment screw till you get it to stop whining (like I saw in a video for the Little Wizard II), this is auto-calibrating. Just hold it out away from any metal while you turn it on, and it calibrates based on its surroundings. This is also helpful when narrowing down a piece of metal in an area with other smaller pieces. Just let off of the trigger and turn it back on where it is, and it'll be better calibrated to pinpoint the large piece (strongest influence). Metals: This detects ferrous and non-ferrous metals, though it is more sensitive to ferrous metals. I'm not sure how it works, but there may be a different mechanism involved. For example, with ferrous materials, the scanner seems most senstitive when the object is inline with the sensor rather than turned perpendicularly, whereas overall proximity seems to be the most important factor in detecting non-ferrous metals, regardless of orientation. Large object detection (pinpoint orientation, high calibration): Item: [distance at first light], [distance at buzzer] 5-qt stainless mixing bowl: 5.5", 3.5" heavy lineman's pliers: 5.5", 3" 3/8" OD copper tubing: ~2", ~3/4" (similar for 5/8" OD copper pipe) 14-AWG 2-conductor Romex: ~1", ~3/8" 0.024" thick aluminum plate: 4.5", 1.5" (Your mileage may vary...) Small object detection: This found one leg of a common office staple (~6mm long - pretty small!!) in a piece of wood. Properly oriented, it's enough to sound the buzzer. Oriented non-optimally, it may only light up 2-3 lights, but I'm still convinced it would find it buried even an 1/8" in both broad or pinpoint orientation, if you're doing a properly careful search. For non-ferrous metal, I got similar results with a 14mm piece of solid telephone wire. Sensor geometry: The sensor is not as symmetric as it appears. I used the two tiny bits of metal mentioned above to "map" it. The intended pinpoint end is sensitive, whereas the other end isn't very. In the middle zone, there's a variation of sensitivity depending on the material. For ferrous metals, it seemed more sensitive in the very middle, whereas non-ferrous materials were better detected in either direction away from the very middle. Magnetized materials: The usage sheet states: "Magnetized materials may cause false, unstable indications." After experimenting with a small disk-shaped fridge magnet, I don't think that will make a big difference. It seemed to detect it somewhat better facing into one of the poles, and a little less coming at it from the side, which is about what I expected. Bottom line: I'm very pleased with my new "toy" and expect it will serve me well for years to come.

I have been using this for several months and I am able to use it so that it is 100% correct all the time. How you use it and what you are trying to detect makes a difference. I use it to quickly scan the surface of wood for ferrous metals before I put it into a thickness planer. If a thin nail has been driven into a board and I am trying to detect it from the other side (detecting the pointed end of the nail), the Wizard needs to be within 1/2" of the end of the nail. If I am trying to detect a large mass of metal (like an I-beam :) it will detect it from 5+ inches away. It gives many, many false positives (that is, indicates there is metal there when there isn't). The Wizard is constantly adjusting itself to accomodate the substrate the metal might be embedded in, which is always changing since you are moving the Wizard around. However how the device shows false positives is different than how it shows genuine positives (that is, metal that really is there). When I see false positives I move it back and forth over an area that doesn't have metal to let the device "set itself to 0" (i.e., the lights go out). Then slowly going back over the area in question will reveal the truth. I am very happy with this device. I'm only giving it 4 stars because of the useless, too generalized, information given from the manufacturer about the parameters for which it will detect metal.

I am putting in crown molding throughout our house. I use a regular Zircon stud finder to locate wall studs for the crown molding finish nailing into the walls. However, the ceiling is constructed of ceiling joists with 3 inch strapping applied 16" on center across the joists (also 16 in. on center), then blueboard, and skim plaster. A regular Zircon stud finder, even the deep penetrating ones, do not find the joists because of the air gap between the blueboard and the joist since the blueboard is nailed to strapping) and are often confused with the strapping (because it is 3 in wide and not what the Zircon expects as a typical joist width) and stud pattern. I recently bought the Zircon m40 to find the nail pattern in the ceiling to establish the strapping location (and direction) and the joists. This unit does a fantastic job of finding all the nails and in the pinpoint mode, will locate them exactly. It only takes a bit of work to mark the location of nails and develop a pattern that quickly identifies location and direction of the strapping and the joists. This makes nailing the ceiling edge of the crown molding secure into either strapping or a joist to hold the molding firmly against the ceiling. The other method is time-consuming and requires drilling pilot holes in the ceiling or opening a light fixture to locate the joist or strapping and then determining the center spacing of both and attempting to map this out to the walls. It doesn't take much to be off a lot around the walls and miss joists or straps with ceiling nails and have loose crown molding. The Zircon MetalliScanner solved this messy problem for me quickly, easily, and with no mess and drilling, and inaccuracies.

I had quite a bit of trouble finding the studs in my plaster walls without this. I tried measuring from an electrical outlet but none were available on the particular wall in question. I tried a traditional magnetic stud finder but this also didn't work because the nails were simply too deeply embedded. And as a final resort, I tried tapping on the wall which generated some interesting noises but didn't help me find the studs at all (others may be better at this but it turns out I'm pretty awful at using this method - particularly in plaster.) Then I tried this device which very quickly and accurately located the studs in my wall. And by quickly I mean it took me less than a minute to accurately locate all of them. You can run the device over the wall horizontally to locate the actual studs - and you can run the device vertically up and down the stud (once located) to determine exactly where the nails are located (if required). This also helps to confirm that you have, in fact, located a stud. (insert joke here) I was amazed at how quick and easy this all was with this device. Well worth the purchase price and I plan to use it for all similar projects in the future. Sure beats drilling about 10 test holes which would have been my next approach.

It works well and am happy with it. I have used it for detecting studs by locating the fasteners but got it to check lumber I salvaged from an old house so I don't chew up my planer blades. I do like the ability that I didn't realy care for too much for either way upon research of the product before purchasing, that this device has but that I now think may come in handy. This is the ability to literally detect a single nail or fastener behind a coat of paint and spackle. You do this by using the infinitely adjustable "taring" ability or baseline sensitivity ability you can set right before scanning and you can repeatedly change/set to get more or less sensitive.

I have experienced a high success rate at accurately locating studs using this scanner. It senses metal as small as a nail head. If the studs you are expecting to locate are behind typical drywall then I can attest this scanner will find the nails or screws and therefore, the studs. I have no experience with scanning lath plaster walls with this scanner. The important point is that this scanner does detect metal and is reasonably sensitive. Now one must question why it might be necessary to have this gadget when a small, powerful magnet can also locate nails. Still, I like the idea of being able to scan for ferrous and non-ferrous metal alike behind a wall which is helpful for locating metal pipes and other features like rebar. For the money, this is a worthwhile gadget to add to an arsenal of tools. It is very important to read the instructions and understand them to get the maximum benefit from this scanner. Especially important is the importance if calibrating the tool in the orientation you expect to use it. Otherwise, false readings will occur.

Purchased this item about 60 days ago after extensive shopping. Returned to Amazon within 30 days as the item was little more than an expensive toy. The only way that you could detect metal was by holding the detector 1" (one inch) away from metal, not within 3" as advertised. The scanner came without a 9 volt battery which was indicated by one favorable comment, although when I looked back in Amazon's ad, the battery was not mentioned. Thankfully Amazon promptly handled the return at no charge and refunded my purchase price. I am a professional woodworker and still looking for an affordable good detector for nails and/or metal found in recycled lumber to avoid wrecking planer and sawblades as well as my body. Will continue to purchase from Amazon because of their great return and shipping policy.

After misplacing my old stud finder, I did some research and came across this 'metal detector'. It worked like a charm on my 100 year old plaster/lath walls in finding the metal nails in the studs. We were able to hang a headboard onto the wall and feel confident the thing wasn't coming down. Now, I am getting ready to add shelves to a wooden bead board closet and it easily went through thick, old wooden bead board to find the studs (the nails in the studs). It does take a bit of getting used to as you have to move it back and forth on the wall to eventually isolate the exact spot but, once you get the hang of it, it works very well and you get it done in a minute or so. It's a little pricey, but so worth it. The guesswork is eliminated. I highly recommend this metal detector. It's worked every time for me on plaster/lath and wooden bead board. It's lightweight and easy to read the output.